This social platform offers several types of entertaining content to boost engagement and attract users’ attention. For example, the “story” function offers many possibilities in terms of creativity and versatility. This ephemeral format, which disappears after 24 hours, is available at the top of your account navigation page. By clicking on the circular icons, you will be able to discover the stories broadcast by other users. With a maximum of 15 seconds per video, you will observe that this content is often less ” polished ” than traditional publications. It is interesting to know that the Instagram application now offers the possibility to save your stories as “Featured Content”, an option that will allow you to keep and show this content over time, you will not be limited to 24 hours of visibility. As a business, you’ll be able to choose to categorize your front-page stories to showcase multiple segments of your business. For example, your latest collection, your “behind the scene”, your job openings, your events, your customer testimonials, etc.

Since Instagram stories don’t necessarily require an overly “polished” look but more of a spontaneous, authentic, reality-reflecting feel, it’s a great opportunity for your company to show more of who you are and your behind the scenes. Why not show your team in action? People love to get unseen glimpses of your offices or even your creative process. It’s a key factor that will keep them interested and interacting with you. It’s also a format that allows you to synthesize information, or even visually explain a concept without sacrificing the overall aesthetics of your page.

Like any other strategy, your content creation strategy must be thought out and developed before your communications. Among the multitude of content available to your consumers, you must be the one that attracts and holds their attention. On average, brands lose 20% of their audience after their first story. So you need to think of different ways to energize your content to make sure it will impact your audience, in order to get your message across and meet your visibility and engagement goals. Vary the content and format of your stories to make them fun and light-hearted for your community. Offering diverse content is the key to keeping your audience interested. While stories don’t need to be as elaborate as your feed posts, for example, they should still be thoughtful and have a purpose that aligns with your vision, brand identity and goals. 

Whatever the purpose of the message you want to get across, it’s worth using the different tools that Instagram offers for the story format. In fact, we’ve selected a few for you: 

#1 The boomerang:  

This option is great to energize a short video, making it more fun and capturing your audience’s attention in the first three seconds. By recording a story using boomerang mode ∞, Instagram will automatically create an animation, back and forth, in a cyclical manner. By the way, the boomrang feature got a makeover a few months ago, you now have access to 3 new settings: slow motion, echo and duo. Go test them quickly to integrate them into your strategy!  

Pro tip: shoot your videos in portrait format. Your users are lazy, so if you could save them from having to turn their phone…   

#2 GIFs:  

When a user goes on Instagram, they expect to see interesting and entertaining content. The GIF is the ideal tool to meet his expectations. It allows to communicate information through emotions, often accompanied by a humorous line. GIFs are actually animated images that allow you to add lightness to your content, addressing amusing topics that users can identify with. It’s already a popular format, so you’ll be sure to get it right. 

#3 Stickers:  

Stickers are a great tool to personalize your stories, push your creativity and increase the visibility of your page. Here are some examples:  

• You can add a “Location” sticker to indicate where you are. 
• You can create a “Poll” or make a “Question Box” where your community can answer directly and increase your engagement rate.  
• You can also add a “Link” sticker to add your URL to a product or a web page that consumers will be able to consult, directly from your story.  
• You can even add “Music” to amplify the emotion of your content or create a “Countdown” that your users can record before the launch of your new collection for example.  

Now that you have all the tools in hand to diversify, personalize and boost your stories from the Instagram app, it’s time to take action!  To learn even more, check out this  article.